General Hux Actor Explains Why He Isn't In The Marketing For Star Wars 8

Domhnall Gleeson says he thinks that General Hux hasn't been in the marketing for Star Wars: The Last Jedi so far because he's simply not important enough. As well as finally giving Luke Skywalker something to do, Rian Johnson's Episode VIII will reunite audiences with many of the major new characters from The Force Awakens - Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Snoke and more - who we've been gradually learning more about thanks to a string of magazine exclusives.

One character we've not seen much of is General Hux. Domhnall Gleeson's First Order leader (after Snoke, of course) survived the destruction of Starkiller Base at the end of The Force Awakens and will return in The Last Jedi, but aside from one photo from the Vanity Fair photoshoot has been totally absent from the marketing.

Screen Rant sat down with Gleeson to discuss his new film, Tom Cruise thriller American Made, and asked about his current lack of presence in Star Wars: The Last Jedi's advertising, to which the actor said he felt was only to be expected due to his position in the massive production:

"I don't think there was much out about [me] for the first one either. I'm not one of the bigger characters - Adam, Oscar, Daisy and John are up front and then it's a big line of people ahead of me on the call sheet, so I certainly don't take it personally. I think they know how to market Star Wars, so I'll leave them to it."

Gleeson was amongst the original cast announcement for Episode VII along with the stars he names - Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega - and the core returning cast members, but he's right that his role isn't quite as big as some of the others. In The Force Awakens he was the background commander of Starkiller Base and mainly oversaw its reveal to the galaxy with a dictatorial anger - Driver's Kylo was the main villain. And, when it came to the marketing, he wasn't prominent - Hux had a muted presence in the trailers and wasn't on the main poster. As such, the character's current handling fits with what we've come to expect.

This would suggest that Hux isn't going to get a considerably boosted role in The Last Jedi and will be once again filling the role of the First Order's second-in-command behind Supreme Leader Snoke, who this time will have a physical presence. Hopefully there's still room in the packed film for some sibling-style bickering with Kylo Ren, though.

All that said, there has been a general absence of the film's antagonists in general. We've seen new additions like BB-9E and Snoke's Supremacy care of Force Friday II, but what threat the on-the-march First Order actually poses has been kept vague in favor of focusing on the good guys, especially Luke and Rey's relationship. What this all means is unclear, but as Gleeson says, "they know how to market Star Wars".